Acupuncture
Information about Traditional Acupuncture can be downloaded from the Library section.
The following notes are based, with permission, on text from The British Acupuncture Council.
About Acupuncture
With an increasing number of people seeking acupuncture treatment it is important for patients and healthcare professionals to understand the difference in the two types most commonly on offer.
Acupuncture, as practised by members of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC), is an holistic approach to health based on over 2000 years of development and refinement in the Far East. Western-style or medical acupuncture is a more recent development, practised predominantly by doctors and physiotherapists, which uses a more limited range of acupuncture techniques on the basis of a western medical diagnosis.
Traditionally, acupuncture is an holistic approach to the management of disease as well as the maintenance of health. The skill of an acupuncturist lies in the ability to make a traditional diagnosis from what is often a complex pattern of disharmony. The exact pattern and degree of disharmony is unique to each individual and with traditional acupuncture is always treated as such.
Acupuncture is a system of healing which has been practised in China and other Eastern countries for thousands of years. Although often described as a means of pain relief, it is in fact used to treat people with a wide range of illnesses. Its focus is on improving the overall wellbeing of the patient, rather than the isolated treatment of specific symptoms.
According to traditional Chinese philosophy, our health is dependent on the body’s motivating energy, known as Qi, moving in a smooth and balanced way through a series of meridians (channels) beneath the skin.
Qi consists of equal and opposite qualities – Yin and Yang – and when these become unbalanced, illness may result. By inserting fine needles into the channels of energy, an acupuncturist can stimulate the body’s own healing response and help restore its natural balance.
The flow of Qi can be disturbed by a number of factors. These include emotional states such as anxiety, stress, anger, fear or grief, poor nutrition, weather conditions, hereditary factors, infections, poisons and trauma. The principal aim of acupuncture in treating the whole person is to recover the equilibrium between the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the individual.
About the British Acupuncture Council
The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) represents professional acupuncturists who have an extensive training in acupuncture and the biomedical sciences appropriate to the practice of this therapy. Members practise a recognised and traditional system of diagnosis and treatment therapy. This has been developed and refined over 2000 years and provides an holistic approach to maintaining health and managing illness.
There is no government legislation in the UK covering acupuncture at present. This means that unfortunately anyone can currently provide acupuncture treatment without any professional acupuncture training whatsoever.
The BAcC believes that anyone who provides acupuncture treatment should have undertaken an extensive acupuncture training of at least three years full-time or the part-time equivalent. This is irrespective of any prior biomedical training a practitioner may have: a biomedical training is not qualification for the provision of professional acupuncture treatment.
The BAcC maintains standards of education, ethics, practice and discipline to ensure the health and safety of the public at all times. It is also committed to promoting research and enhancing the role that traditional acupuncture can play in the health and well-being of the nation.
The British Acupuncture Council website: www.acupuncture.org.uk